“Xu Ben is right, I’m tired today too. How about we all rest now and have a good chat tomorrow morning?” Zhong San suggested cheerfully.
“Okay, since you’re tired too, let’s talk tomorrow.” Xu Xian’en smiled at him. “Zhong San, thank you so much for today. Without you, I think eight out of ten of us would have starved to death in the wild.”
“It’s nothing, because we are fated to be together,” he smiled faintly.
Zhong San hopped onto her shoulder, nodded towards Zhong San, and then led Xu Xian’en into the room.
Though it was called a room, it was merely a small cave, partitioned by a thin wooden board. The stone floor was covered with dry grass and a thick cloth, and with the goose down they brought, it was somewhat warm enough.
Exhausted, Xu Xian’en climbed onto the stone bed first. “I’m so tired today…”
To avoid poor sound insulation, Zhong San deliberately lowered his voice while passing her something. “En’en, I want you to wear this.”
“What is this?” she struggled to open her eyes.
“Don’t worry about it, just wear it; there will be a day when it will come in handy.” He patted her little hand. “Sleep now, I’m here for everything.”
“Okay…” Her mind was already muddled, unable to think about what might be amiss.
The night gradually deepened.
In her sleep, she seemed to feel the warmth beside her suddenly leave, and the cold, without the warmth beside her, she seemed to wake from a good dream.
“Hmm…”
She turned over, feeling her arms restrained as if by something. Xu Xian’en was startled, tried to sit up, only to find herself tightly bound to the bed!
“Zhong… Zhong San!” she screamed, her eyes straining to see what was happening.
“You’ve had a good sleep, you really are spirited.”
It wasn’t Zhong San’s voice, it was Zhong San! Xu Xian’en tried to lift her head to look at Zhong San standing at the door.
“Don’t rush, I’ll come over to show you, heh heh.” Zhong San unhurriedly walked to the bed, one hand gently pressing Xu Xian’en’s forehead. “Hungry? Want something to eat?”
